Farm Supervision
This service includes fully administering a farm where owners are a corporate, a non-farming trust, are overseas or prefer to be absent due to other business commitments or retirement.
It involves hiring the right contract milkers, sharemilkers or employees. It then comprises enabling them to get on with the job of achieving the farm goals while being held accountable.
Monthly/bi-monthly meetings and farm inspections are held with the staff for forward planning, feed budgeting, farm management and maintenance directions. Production and reproduction KPI’s are discussed, management plans implemented, and reviews held. Capital project management can be implemented.
A farm budget is created based on a business plan. Monthly invoices are received and approved before sending to the farm accountant for payment. Cash flows and farm accounts are reviewed and compared with budget.
Compliance issues including health and safety, farm environment plans and required resource consents are managed, improved or implemented where necessary.
Lease Inspections
When properties are leased it is important to have at least an annual inspection by an independent to make sure the farm is being looked after as the owner would.
I meet with the lessee and inspect the farm and facilities. Checking that fencing, drainage and buildings are being maintained, checking that weeds are under control or that there is a plan to control them, along with proof of fertiliser application and that the farm is not overstocked are common elements of the inspection. Essentially that the lessee has done what was agreed in contract.
The landowner is a PCBU in terms of health and safety and there must be dialogue and input into a health and safety plan. I can also help with mediating a fair rent at review time. Most lessees run the farm as if it were their own but some need coaching and very occasionally landlord’s notices need be written.
A comprehensive report is circulated to the lessor and the lessee and becomes a record of accountability or improvement and a formal structure for communication.
Farm Consultancy
“Why are we farming?” and
“Do we have a business plan?” and
“How are we going to get there?”
“Am I being compliant?”
“Am I farming sustainably?”
These are all questions that need to be answered and I can facilitate this. From implementing budgets, motivating staff, feeding stock well, growing dry matter, coping with climatic variation, helping with HR, compliance, but mostly maximizing profits and being sustainable.
Recruitment
It’s never easy finding the right sharemilkers, contract milkers or managers, but I can deal with all recruitment including advertising, shortlisting, interviewing and reference checking. Employment/sharemilking agreement signing is much easier with a 3rd party available. I can offer this service as a standalone service but prefer to be involved in the role development going forward to enable the staff member to offer the best value to the employer.
I do not use numerical techniques for ranking candidates or psychometric testing. But I do believe phone referencing three sources, including the current employer are the best way to find the right candidate.
Human resource management
To get the best from your staff they need to have job satisfaction:
This service includes fully administering a farm where owners are a corporate, a non-farming trust, are overseas or prefer to be absent due to other business commitments or retirement.
It involves hiring the right contract milkers, sharemilkers or employees. It then comprises enabling them to get on with the job of achieving the farm goals while being held accountable.
Monthly/bi-monthly meetings and farm inspections are held with the staff for forward planning, feed budgeting, farm management and maintenance directions. Production and reproduction KPI’s are discussed, management plans implemented, and reviews held. Capital project management can be implemented.
A farm budget is created based on a business plan. Monthly invoices are received and approved before sending to the farm accountant for payment. Cash flows and farm accounts are reviewed and compared with budget.
Compliance issues including health and safety, farm environment plans and required resource consents are managed, improved or implemented where necessary.
Lease Inspections
When properties are leased it is important to have at least an annual inspection by an independent to make sure the farm is being looked after as the owner would.
I meet with the lessee and inspect the farm and facilities. Checking that fencing, drainage and buildings are being maintained, checking that weeds are under control or that there is a plan to control them, along with proof of fertiliser application and that the farm is not overstocked are common elements of the inspection. Essentially that the lessee has done what was agreed in contract.
The landowner is a PCBU in terms of health and safety and there must be dialogue and input into a health and safety plan. I can also help with mediating a fair rent at review time. Most lessees run the farm as if it were their own but some need coaching and very occasionally landlord’s notices need be written.
A comprehensive report is circulated to the lessor and the lessee and becomes a record of accountability or improvement and a formal structure for communication.
Farm Consultancy
“Why are we farming?” and
“Do we have a business plan?” and
“How are we going to get there?”
“Am I being compliant?”
“Am I farming sustainably?”
These are all questions that need to be answered and I can facilitate this. From implementing budgets, motivating staff, feeding stock well, growing dry matter, coping with climatic variation, helping with HR, compliance, but mostly maximizing profits and being sustainable.
Recruitment
It’s never easy finding the right sharemilkers, contract milkers or managers, but I can deal with all recruitment including advertising, shortlisting, interviewing and reference checking. Employment/sharemilking agreement signing is much easier with a 3rd party available. I can offer this service as a standalone service but prefer to be involved in the role development going forward to enable the staff member to offer the best value to the employer.
I do not use numerical techniques for ranking candidates or psychometric testing. But I do believe phone referencing three sources, including the current employer are the best way to find the right candidate.
Human resource management
To get the best from your staff they need to have job satisfaction:
- Employees have input into their employment agreement. Is the recruitment “take it or leave it” or was the contract negotiated with terms including time off for training, tool allowance, AB run, wet weather allowance, accommodation expectations, etc.
- Organisation of work is highly influenced by employees. Some larger farms have the staff draw up their own work roster, some have their staff write up their own job lists (“must do/should do/could do”) with accountability checks, etc.
- Prompt resolution of any issue by meeting or consultation. This is the big one – don’t let things lie. Look forward to the challenge! Silence or procrastination is the breeding ground of discontent. Negotiate yourself, or if a major issue, get me to sort it out. Speed is key.
- Higher than minimum wages. It’s a fact that you must pay people competitively to keep them, but wages are well down the list of factors that contribute to staff retention.
- All developed staff internally by training. This is another big one. All human beings want to look forward to improvement in all areas of their life. Training can be internal as well as formal external teaching. You may end up training them for the next employer, but they will probably stay or come back through the opportunities you have given them.
- I can develop agreements and mid-term evaluations. The use of an independent 3rd person encourages communication and honesty which is valued by employer and employee alike. Evaluations should be seen as development of both employer and employee. A professional overlooking any contract will be more objective than the rose-framed spectacle wearing new employee, euphoric in the self-worth of landing a new job.
- Complex individual employment agreements used. Having complete knowledge of expectations and “what-ifs” before the job starts. If a generic employment agreement is used, fill in all the gaps and use the blank page to record all the spoken intentions as a record of what was agreed.